[alfa] GTV-6 vibration

[Joe Elliott <jee@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I noticed an annoying and somewhat scary vibration above 60mph in my 
GTV-6 on Saturday.  It was accompanied by an erratic rattling noise 
coming from the dashboard that's not unlike a rattling noise I've 
been hearing from the dash for some time above 4000RPM in 4th and 5th 
gears.  Now I've had all kinds of front-end vibrations before, caused 
by worn ball joints, worn bushings, misalignment, and unevenly-worn 
tires, but all of those vibrations came into the car primarily as a 
rotational ("angular?") vibration of the steering column, which this 
new vibration does not.  I've also experienced a blown-out rear 
giubo, but this new vibration certainly doesn't seem to be coming 
from the driveshaft, and it's not proportional to engine speed, but 
rather road speed.  Now I suppose it's possible that this vibration 
has been there all along, and I'm only noticing it because something 
is rattling behind the dash, but I doubt it.  I had new tires 
installed and had the car aligned in mid-August, and I remember 
noticing how incredibly smooth it was at speed.  I also noticed that 
the steering wheel was a little off-center after a track day in late 
September, so it's seemingly not aligned quite perfectly anymore, 
although all of my previous alignment-related issues have come 
through the steering, which this ones doesn't.  So I really have two 
questions, why is my car vibrating, and why does the dash make a loud 
metallic rattling noise when my car vibrates?

TIA,
Joe Elliott
'82 GTV-6
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